Karen M. Young serves as Deputy Commissioner for Patents in the Patents business unit. In this role, Ms. Young works with and provides executive leadership to Technology Center 2900, which handles the examination of designs.
Prior to becoming Deputy Commissioner for Patents, Karen served as an acting Deputy Commissioner for Patents, Group Director of Technology Center 2900 overseeing the examination of design patent applications, and prior to that she was a Group Director in Technology Center 1700, Chemical and Materials Engineering, and Technology Center 3700, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and Products.
Ms. Young joined the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 1987 as a patent examiner in the fluid handling and dispensing art. She became a supervisory patent examiner in 1995 in Technology Center 3600 in the material and article handling area.
Throughout her career she has served on numerous details including ones to the Office of Petitions and to the Office of the Commissioner for Patents. Karen was also the Administrator for the Office of Patent Resources Administration assisting the Commissioner for Patents and Deputy Commissioners in the formulation, justification, and execution of the Patents business unit budget. Karen also served as Acting Director for the Office of Corporate Planning (now called the Office of Planning and Budget), which is responsible for the coordination of the overall USPTO budget.
She received a Silver Medal for the implementation of the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999; a Bronze Medal for superior performance of official duties; and a Bronze Medal for outstanding service in producing the 2002 and 2003 Performance and Accountability Reports that were awarded the Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR) Award by the Association of Government Accountants.
Ms. Young is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering. She also earned a Certificate in Accounting from the University of Virginia and has passed the Certified Public Accountants examination.